Regenerative coke oven batteries



y 5, 1966 E. THOMPSON, JR 3,259,551

REGENERATIVE COKE OVEN BATTERIES Filed 001,. 3, 1961 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG.

INVENTOR.

EK/VEST THOMPSON, J'B

July 5, 1966 THOMPSON, JR 3,259,551

REGENERATIVE COKE OVEN BATTERIES Filed 001,. 3, 1951 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 -nqce 0F Bi/CKIUORK 8* 42 ma 9 c i INVENTOR. 1NE$7 THOMPSON, Jk.

ATTOK/VE) July 5, 1966 THOMPSON, JR

REGENERATIVE COKE OVEN BATTERIES 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Oct. 3, 1961 mc: 0F swam/02K (010) 5 FIG. 5

FACE a; 61/7) 07) FACE OF 5/; m4 (H07) FIG. 6

FACE OF 8R/CKWOKK (C010) F466 0/ CLAY (H07) 97 94 me: of same (#07) Arron/6y United States Patent 3,259,551 REGENERATIVE COKE OVEN BATTERIES Ernest Thompson, in, Darien, Conn, assignor to Allied Chemical Corporation, New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Oct. 3, 1961, Ser. No. 142,557 3 Claims. (Cl. 2tl2-267) This invention relates to improvements in regenerative coke oven batteries having all silica brick construction or having silica brick heating walls and fireclay brick regenerator pillar walls.

In coke oven batteries having silica brick heating walls alternating with the coking chambers and fireclay regenerator pillar walls below the heating walls, due to the relatively large differential in the coefficients of thermal expansion of silica and fireclay, there is a problem of minimizing or preventing crack formation, particularly in the regenerator pillar walls, upon heating up and during normal operation of the battery. This problem is particularly acute during the heating up period when the silica brickwork, which expands more than the clay, tends to pull the clay apart, and is also critical if it becomes necessary to cool down the battery due to operation at reduced rates or due to complete interruption of the coking operation because of work stoppages or for other reasons.

In modern regenerative coke oven batteries in which relatively high and long coking chambers and intermediate heating walls are employed, due to the added height and length of the heating walls and regenerator pillar walls therebeneath, the problem of preventing objectionable crack formation is particularly troublesome. Also, such batteries present the further problem of bending or distortion of the buckstays at the sides of the batteries; the additional height of the batteries and the differential expansion which takes place at the interface between the silica brick and fireclay brick results in forces acting on the buckstays in the area of this interface which tend to cause bending of the buckstays. Once this takes place, the sides of the battery in the localities where the buckstays have been bent are no longer under the adequate confining and compressive forces exerted through or by the buckstays. This further aggravates the problems of preventing or minimizing objectionable crack and fissure formation in the brickwork, particularly in the regenerator pillar or division walls. This problem of preventing bending of the buckstays also arises in modern coke oven batteries having high coking chambers, the heating walls and regenerator pillar walls of which are composed throughout of silica brick.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a regenerative coke oven battery having silica brick heating walls and'fireclay brick regenerator pillar walls maintained under controlled elastic compressive forces to minimize objectionable crack formation during heating up of the battery.

Another object of this invention is to provide such a battery in which the elastic compressive forces can be adjusted during heating up or cooling down, should it become necessary to cool down the battery, and also during the coking operation of the battery, to minimize objectionable crack formation in the regenerator pillar or division walls where cracks are prone to form.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a coke battery construction having buckstays at the opposite sides of each heating wall and a regenerator pillar wall therebeneath, which buckstays and associated parts are constructed and arranged to oppose bending of the buckstays.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will 3,259,551 Patented July 5, 1966 "ice be apparent from the following detailed description thereof.

In the accompanying drawings forming a part of this application and showing for purposes of illustration 2. preferred embodiment of the invention, but without limiting the invention to this embodiment,

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary vertical section taken crosswise of a regenerative coke oven battery showing diagrammatically the respective fireclay and silica brick portions in the heating walls and regenerator division walls in one embodiment of the invention, and further showing the buckstay and associated structure for applying adjustable elastic pressure to the buckstays, and compressive forces to the opposite ends of the regenerator pillar walls and oven heating walls; this figure shows the parts in the heated-up position;

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary vertical section taken longitudinally of the battery along the line 2-2 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a View taken along the line 33 of FIGURE 1, showing two buckstays at one side of the battery, each opposite a heating wall and a regenerator pillar wall therebeneath, and an intermediate buckstay positioned therebetween and opposite a regenerator division wall;

FIGURE 4 is a horizontal section taken along the line 4-4 in FIGURE 3, showing a buckstay and an upper pillar wall compression member associated therewith bearing against the face of a regenerator pillar wall of the battery; this figure shows the relative position of the parts in the cold position before heating up of the coke oven battery;

FIGURE 5 is a view similar to FIGURE 4, showing these parts in the position they occupy when the battery has been heated up to operating temperatures;

FIGURE 6 is a horizontal section taken along the line 6-6 in FIGURE 3, showing a buckstay and a regenerator pillar wall compression member bearing against the intermediate portion of the pillar wall along the height thereof; this figure shows the position of these parts in the cold position of the battery;

FIGURE 7 is a view similar to FIGURE 6, showing these parts in the position they occupy when the battery has been heated up;

FIGURE 8 is a view taken along the line 8-8 in FIGURE 3, showing an intermediate buckstay bearing against a regenerator division wall which divides each crosswise extending regenerator into two side-by-side portions; this figure shows these parts in the battery cold position; and

FIGURE 9 is a view similar to FIGURE 8, showing these parts in the battery heated-up position.

Referring to the drawings, the coke over battery shown (see FIGURES 1 and 2), for purposes of exemplification of this invention, rests on a concrete mat 10 supported by pillars 11 above a basement space 12 extending the entire length and breadth of the battery. The battery proper includes a regenerator section 13, the major portion of which is constituted of fireclay refractory brick, an oven section 14 constituted of silica refractory brick, and an oven top or roof section 15 constituted of fireclay refractory brick.

FIGURE 1 shows the approximate relative height of each of these sections. The invention, however, is not confined to such oven batteries. It is applicable to batteries having silica brick roof structures, and batteries in 3 the feature hereinafter described of the structure for preventing the bending of the buckstays is applicable to all coke oven batteries including all or substantially all silica brick construction.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in the drawings, the oven section 14 includes a series of crosswise extending high coking chambers 16, each of which is from about 13 to about Lfeet high, alternating with a series of heating walls 17. For illustrative purposes, a battery is shown having a number of hairpin fines disposed within each heating wall crosswise of the battery, although the invention is applicable to other heating w-alls having the fiues arranged in groups of inflow and outflow flues as well as the well known cross-over type of ovens in which the flues of one heating wall are communicazbly connected with the flues of another heating wall. As shown in FIGURES 1 and 2, each flue is composed of two branches 18 and 19 inter-connected at their upper ends at 21. The components of each heating Wall are preferably built from a high density, e.g., about 110 pounds per cubic foot, silica brick.

The silica brickwork extends downward from a level (FIGURE 1) corresponding to the first course of fireclay brick forming the roof section 15 to the interface 26 between the silica and fireclay brick portions, which interface is preferably below the soles 24 of the coking chambers. While it is preferred to construct the portion of the regenerator section 13 above the level 26 of silica brick and the remaining cooler sections of the regenerator brickwork of fireclay brick, if desired, the entire regenerator section 13 below the oven soles 24 may be built of silica brick. Desirably as shown in the drawing, contiguous courses of silica and fireclay brick are provided with keyed or interlocking joints J (FIGURE 2).

Crosswise extending regenerators 27 and 28 (FIGURE 2) are arranged in pairs in the regenerator section 13. Each pair of regenerators is separated from an adjacent pair by a massive regenerator pillar wall 23 positioned directly beneath a heating wall 17, and the members of each pair are separated from each other by a regenerator division wall 31. The regenerators 27 and 28 are each filled with checkers composed of fireclay brick as conventional. Each of the regenerators 27 and 28 is also divided into a number of side-by-side compartments 32 separated by compartment division walls 33 (FIGURE 1), one compartment for each hairpin fiue in the heating wall 17 thereabove.

Each pair of the regenerators 27 and 28 communicates through channels 34 with alternate flues in the heating walls to the left and right, respectively, of the coking chamber 16 thereabove. These fiues, i.e., the fines in the heating walls on opposite sides of each coking chamber, are always in phase, functioning as infiow flues during one cycle of operation and as outflow flues during the succeeding cycle. Correspondingly, successive pairs of the regenerators 27 and 28 positioned along the length of the battery are connected to function alternately as air inflow regenerators and outflow regenerators for products of combustion.

Since each pair of crosswise extending regenerators 27 and 28 is separated from the next pair of such regenerators by a relatively massive regenerator pillar wall 29, leakage from one pair serving as infiow regenerators to the next serving as outflow regenerator-s (or vice versa) does not occur. Moreover, the individual regenerators 27 and 28 of each pair are always in phase, as are all the compartments 32 of each regenerator.

As conventional, the coking chambers are provided with charging holes and gas off-takes, and the flues are provided with burners to which fuel gas is supplied, and ports through which air is supplied from the regenerators. These regenerators, of course, communicate through suitable ducts with one or more waste heat fiues leading to the chimney.

Since the invention is applicable to all regenerative coke oven batteries having regenerator pillar walls beneath the heating walls and regenerators beneath the coking chambers, irrespective of the particular design of the flues, regenerators, gas and air supply piping, etc., further description of these known parts is believed unnecessary.

According to the invention, vertical buckstays 35 and 36 are arranged in pairs on the opposite sides of the battery, viewing FIGURE 1. The members of each pair of buckstays 35 and 36 are positioned at the opposite ends of each heating wall 17 and the regenerator pillar wall 29 therebeneath. Since the structure of the buckstays along the length of and on either side of the battery is the same, two adjacent buckstays 36 (see FIG- URE 3) on the pusher side of the battery will be described in detail.

As shown in FIGURE 3, each of the buckstays 36 is an I-beam extending the entire height of the coke oven battery. Each two adjacent buckstays are connected by a pair of spaced channel-shaped horizontal connecting beams 37 and 38 extending longitudinally of the battery at about the level of the interface 26 thereof.

Intermediate the ends of the connecting beam 37, an auxiliary buckstay 39 is mounted at one end to the connecting beam by a bracket 41 (FIGURES 3, 8 and 9). The opposite end of the auxiliary buckstay is attached to a cross piece 42 mounted between and fixed to the buckstays 36.

The auxiliary buckstay 39 is disposed in bearing relation against the silica brickwork end of the regenerator division wall 31 above the interface 26. The auxiliary buckstays 39, together with the buckstays 36, and the corresponding buckstays 35 at the opposite side of the battery, provide unitary grids which, as hereinafter more fully described, exert compressive forces on the opposite ends of the silica brick heating walls and the ends of the silica brickwork in the regenerator section 13 (above the silica brick-fireclay brick interface).

Each of the buckstays 35 and 36, as noted, extends from the base of the battery to the top thereof. A pair of tie rods 43 (FIGURES 1 and 3) extends through the roof section 15 of the battery and protrude through a contact plate 40 secured to each buckstay of each pair 35 and 36 on the opposite sides of the battery. At one of the free ends 44 (FIGURE 1) of the tie rods 43 heavy compression springs 45 are mounted; the force exerted by these springs is adjustable by nuts 46 threaded on the ends 44. The opposite free ends 47 of the tie rods are secured against contact plates 40 by nuts 48. Adjustment of the nuts 46 varies the tension placed upon the tie rods 43 and the force stressing the buckstays 35 and 36 toward one another. Preferably compression springs 45 exert a compressive force of the order of 10,000 to 15,000 pounds.

Additional springs 49 are mounted on the buckstays 35 and 36, bearing on suitable members adjacent the ends of the roof section 15, when the latter is made of fireclay, to maintain the fireclay roof under compression at all times. This feature is not part of the present invention which is applicable to batteries having any desired roof structure. Hence, further description of the roof structure is considered unnecessary.

The base of each buckstay is provided with an anchor bolt 52 (FIGURE 1) fixed in the concrete mat 10 supporting the battery. A compression spring 51 is mounted on the free end of each bolt 52 extending through the lower end of the buckstay individual thereto. The compressive force exerted by spring 51 hearing against the buckstay can be adjusted by nut 53 on the end of each bolt 52. The springs 51 are heavy compression springs exerting forces of the order of 35,000 to 50,000 pounds.

Side benches 54 are disposed at the opposite sides of the battery along the length thereof. Each of the side benches comprises a series of spaced pillars 55 supported by a foundation 56 and a series of crosswise extending bench beams 57 supported at their outer ends by the pillars 55 and connected at their inner ends to the buckstays 35 and 36, respectively, at the interface 26 of the silica and fireclay brickwork. Each of the pillars 55 and the bench beams 57 supported thereby is aligned with one of the regenerator pillar walls 29 of the battery.

Diagonal tie rods 58 (FIGURE 1) are secured at their lower ends to brackets 59 mounted on each of the buckstays 35 and 36 adjacent the bases thereof and at their upper ends to brackets 60 mounted adjacent the outer ends of the bench beams 57. The tie rod construction for exerting a force on each buckstay, on the opposite sides of the battery, is the same for all buckstays; hence only one such construction will be described in detail. Each of the diagonal tie rods 58 comprises a lower rod 61 pivotally fastened at one end to the bracket 59 and threaded at its opposite free end. An upper rod 62 is pivotally fastened at one end to the bracket 60 and has fixed thereto a strap or housing 63 through the base 64 of which extends the other end of rod 61. A heavy compression spring 65 is confined between base 64 of strap 63 and the plate 66. Adjustment of the compressive force exerted by spring 65 is effected by turning a nut 67 in threaded engagement with rod 61; movement of nut 67 controls the position of plate 66 on rod 61 and thus controls the force exerted by spring 65.

The compression spring 65 pressing against the base 64 of strap 63 exerts a downwardly directed stress through rod 62, indicated by the arrow 68 in FIGURE 1 along the length of each tie rod 58, having an inwardly directed horizontal component 69 exerted along the length of the bench beam 57 against the adjacent buckstay at or near the interface 26. The compression spring 65 is, in fact, a tension gauge; its length is proportional to the inwardly directed force 69 applied along each bench beam 57 and it thus gives an indication of the load or stress on the bench beam 57 with which is associated. Each tie rod 58, it will be noted, is thus under an adjustable stress tending to shorten the tie rod and pulling downwardly on the end of the bench beam to which it is pivotally fastened. Preferably, the compression spring 65 exerts a force of the order of 30,000 to 80,000 pounds, having a horizontal component 69 of from 22,000 to 60,000 pounds.

Each buckstay has associated therewith a first bearing member 71, for exerting compressive forces on the upper fireclay brick portion (just below the interface 26) of the regenerator pillar wall directly opposite the buckstay, and a second member 72 disposed toward the bottom of the fireclay portion of each regenerator pillar wall, for exerting compressive forces there-on. associated with each buckstay is the same, and similarly each member 72 associated with each buckstay is the same, only one member 71 and one member 72 will be described in detail hereinafter. It will be understood that these bearing members 71 and 72 are positioned on the opposite sides of each regenerator pillar wall at substantially the same levels to exert compressive force on the opposite ends of the fireclay brick portions of the regenerator pillar walls, pushing the brickwork forming these walls together so that should any cracks or fissures tend to form, they are immediately closed up under the compressive forces exerted on each wall.

Member 71 (FIGURES 4 and 5) comprises a bearing member 73 having a flat surface positioned against the end of the regenerat-or pillar wall in the area immediately below the interface 26, and having flanges 74 extending As each member 71.

from the ends thereof in a direction away from the face flange 77 of each buckstay is one end of a bolt 78 which passes through plate 75 and has the other end threaded as at 79. A sleeve 81 having a collar 82 is positioned on the bolt 78. A heavy compression spring 83 is confined between the oollar 82 and the plate 75, the spring force being adjustable by a nut 84 in threaded engagement with the threaded end 79 of bolt 78. The compression spring 83 exerts a force against the bearing member 73 abutting the fireclay brickwork of the regenerator pillar wall; preferably, the spring 83 exerts a force of the order of 20,000 to 25,000 pounds.

Member 72 shown in FIGURES 6 and 7 bears against the fireclay brick portion of the regenerator pillar wall. Member 72 comprises a bearing member 85 having a flat surface positioned against the end of the regene-rator pillar wall and having pairs of spaced flanges 86 and 87 extending from the ends thereof, in a direction away from the face of the battery. Secured to each pair of flanges 86 and 87 is a bearing plate 88 having a spring support 89 thereon. A supporting plate 91 having a pair of threaded apertures 92 therein is secured to the outer fiange 77 of the buckstay and a pair of threaded bolts 93 are threaded within the apertures 92. A sleeve member 94- having a head 95 is positioned so that the end of each bolt 93 rests in a guiding aperture 96 in the head 95 of each member 94. Each of the compression springs 97 is confined between the head 95 and the bearing plate 88 associated with flanges 86 and 87; the compressive force exerted by each spring is adjustable by turning the threaded bolts 93 to move the bolts relative .to the supporting plate 91. Each of the compression springs 97 exerts a force against the bearing member 85 of the fireclay brickwork of the order of 5,000 to 10,000 pounds.

As best shown in FIGURES 3, 8 and 9, an elongated spring pressed intermediate buckstay 98 bears against the fireclay portion of each intermediate regenerator division wall 31 below the interface 26, exerting an inwardly directed elastic compressive force thereon. The intermediate buckstay 98 extends from about the level of the interface 26 downward to the base of the battery adjacent the mat 10. Adjacent each such intermediate buckstay 98, a threaded bolt 99 is mounted between the horizontal connecting beams 37 and 38, supported within a threaded aperture 101 in a channel iron 102 fastened to the connecting beams 37 and 38. A compression spring 103 is confined between bearing members 104 and 105. The former bears against one end of spring 103 and is similar to member 94 shown in FIGURE 6. Bearing member 105 is fastened to the intermediate buckstay 98. Spring 103 exerts a compressive force against the intermediate buckst-ay 98, which force is adjusted by turning the bolt 99. The force exerted by the spring 103 is of the order of from 15,000 to 20,000 pounds.

The lower end of each intermediate buckstray 98 is pressed against the base of the fireclay brickwork of the regenerator division wall by a compression spring 106 (FIGURE 9) mounted on the free end of an anchor bolt 107 extending thnough the intermediate buckstay and into the mat 10. The load applied to compression spring 106 is adjusted by turning a nut 108 at the end of the anchor bolt 107. The compression spring 106 exerts a compressive force of the order of 5,000 pounds.

When the regenerative coke oven battery shown in the drawings is heated to operating temperatures, the expansion of the masonry brickwork presses the buckstays outwardly along the length thereof.

The silica brickwork expands more than the fireclay brick portions. For example, for a battery having coking chambers about 42 feet long (cold) the expansion of the silica brick portion is about 3 /2" at each side from the longitudinal median of the battery. The fireclay brick portions of the battery, i.e., the fireclay portions of the regenerator pillar walls and division walls, expand a distance of about 1% from this longitudinal median. With the construction herein disclosed with the buckstays adjacent the ends of the heating walls and the regenerator pillar walls therebeneath, the buckstays are moved bodily away from the longitudinal median of the battery a distance equal to the expansion movement of the silica brickwork during the heating the battery to operating temperatures. The relative positions of the buckstays opp-osite the silica brick portion of the battery when cold and when hot are shown in FIGURES 4 and 5, respectively. The relative positions of the auxiliary buckstays 39 opposite the silica portion of each regenerator division wall of the battery when cold and hot are shown in FIG- URES 8 and 9, respectively. These two figures also show the relative positions of the intermediate buckstay 98 opposite each intermediate regenerator division wall 31 of the battery when cold and hot, respectively. It will be noted from FIGURES 8 and 9 that the intermediate buckstay 98 is mounted relative to the upper auxiliary buckstay 39 sothat it is free to move independently thereof and relative thereto.

The expansion movement hereinabove described is gradual; it takes place over 7 to 8 weeks, required for heating up of the battery, with little expansion taking place during the first week or two and during the last week or two of the heating up period. During the heating up of the battery, each of the buckstays on opposite sides of the battery is maintained under compressive forces exerted by the compression springs 45, 51 on the tie rods and anchor bolts and by each spring 65 which, through the bench beam 57, exerts a compressive force on the intermediate area of the buckstay, in the case of the oven shown in the drawings, at about the interface 26. The opposite ends of each fireclay regenerator pillar and divis-ion wall are maintained under compressive forces exerted by the compression springs 83, 97, 103 and 106, and this even though the buckstays are no longer in contact with the regenerator fireclay brick portions of the pillar walls. The compressive forces thus exerted on the heating walls, regenerator pillar walls and division walls, if used, keep these tight; should any cracks or fissures tend to develop during the heating up, such cracks or fissures are closed immediately.

As the heating up proceeds, the compressive forces exerted by the springs are adjusted from time to time to maintain the desired compressive forces at the opposite ends of the heating walls and regenerator pillar walls and division walls, if present, at the desired level. Once the battery has reached its operating temperature, further adjustment is seldom necessary. The structure herein described serves to maintain the heating walls and regenerator walls tight during normal operation and to prevent or minimize crack formation.

During heating up of the battery, as hereinabove described, not only the buckstays are moved bodily in a lateral direction but also the bench structures, including the bench beams 57 fastened to the buckstays. Bending of the buckstays is resisted by the compressive forces exerted against the intermediate area of the buckstays through bench beam 57 by the compression springs 65. The force exerted by each spring 65 can be adjusted. from time to time during the heating up to accommodate stresses created by expansion of the brickwork during the heating up and to maintain the desired compressive force on the intermediate area of each buckstay at all times, during heating up as Well as during operation, and thus prevent or minimize bending of the buckstays.

In the event the battery foundation should settle relative to the foundation 56 supporting the side benches 54, thus displacing bench beams 57 from their horizontal position, the compression springs 65 change in length to adjust the tie rods 58 to the new configuration. The force exerted by compression springs 65 can then be adjusted by turning the nuts 67, to maintain the desired compressive force on the buckstays intermediate their ends.

In this specification, the expressions silica and fireclay have been used in the sense well known in the art ca to include such refractories having the commercial designations of silica and fireclay, respectively. A typical silica brick composition consists of from to 97% silica (SiO from 0.25% to 1.2% alumina (A1 0 from 1.8% to 3.5% lime (CaO), from 0.3% to 0.9% iron oxide (Fe O and from 0.1% to 0.3% other oxides. A typical fireclay brick composition consists of from 65% to 80% silica (SiO from 18% to 28% alumina (A1 0 from 1.0% to 2.0% titania (TiO and from 2% to 6% other oxides. It will be understood that these compositions are given for illustrative purposes only, and it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that changes may be made there-in without departing from the scope of the invention.

The drawings show, for purposes of exemplification, an under jet oven in which the regenerator pillar walls 29 are each provided with conduits (FIGURE 2) which communicate at one end with gas distribution mains (not shown) and at the other end with the burners located in the flues. The invention, however, is not confined to such under jet coke oven batteries but is applicable also to gas gun coke oven batteries.

It will be understood that the showing in FIGURE 2 of the end structure of the battery involving ventilating opening 111 in the bulkhead 112 and buckstays 113 at the end of the battery is for illustrative purposes only and the present invention is not limited to the end structure shown.

Since changes may be made in the preferred embodiment of the invention shown and described herein without departing from the scope of this invention, all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

What is claimed is:

1. In a regenerative coke oven battery having, in combination, coking chambers having regenerators therebeneath arranged side by side, each coking chamber and regenerator therebeneath being separated from an adjacent coking chamber and regenerator there'beneath by a brick Wall, the portion of each said wall between adjacent coking chambers being composed of silica and at least the lower portion thereof between adjacent regenerators being composed of fireclay brick, said silicia superimposed on fireclay construction being subject to substantial differential expansion when the oven is heated to operating temperature, a vertical buckstay at each end of each such Wall extending for substantially the full height thereof, the improvement comprising a substantially horizontally extending bench 'beam, having an inner and an outer end, positioned opposite the locality of the interface between the silica and fireclay brick portion of each Wall, with the inner end of said bench beam bearing against the buckstay disposed at the end of said wall, the outer end of the beam extending perpendicularly from the buckstay, a single diagonally positioned tie rod having its upper end secured to the outer end of said bench beam remote from the buckstay against which the bench beam bears and having its lower end secured to the lower portion of said buckstay, and a compression spring on said tie rod for exerting tension thereon in a direction to apply force through said bench beam opposing outward bending of said buckstay due to differential expansion of the silica and fireclay brick portions of said wall, said tie rod being the only diagonal tie rod connected to said bench beam.

2. A regenerative coke oven battery comprising, in combination, a series of alternate coking chambers and heating walls arranged side by side in a row, the heating walls .being composed of silica brick, a pair of crosswise extending regenerators beneath each coking chamber, a regenerator pillar wall, at least the lower portion of which is composed of fireclay brick, positioned between each pair of regenerators and beneath a heating wall, said heating wall and regenerator thus forming a silica-fireclay interface, regenerator division walls between the members of each pair of regenerators, a series of vertical buckstays spaced along the length of the battery on each side thereof with one buckstay opposite each of the heating walls and the regenerator pillar walls therebeneath and extending the full height of the regenerator wall and the heating wall, compression members for exerting elastic compressive forces against the ends of each buckstay to press the buckstay against the end of the adjacent heating wall and regenerator pillar wall therebeneath, an auxiliary buckstay bearing against the silica brick portion of each regenerator division wall and exerting an elastic compressive force against said division wall, a horizontally extending bench beam secured to each buckstay and extending substantially at right angles thereto at about the level of the interface between the silica brick and fireclay brick, a single diagonal tie rod extending between the outer end of each bench beam and the lower portion of a buckstay, spring means on said tie rod for exerting a controlled elastic compressive force through said bench beam against the buckstay in opposition to the forces tending to bend the buckstay outward thereat, compression members mounted on each buckstay for exerting compressive forces directly against the fireclay brick portion of the regenerator pillar wall opposite the buckstay and a spring-pressed intermediate buckstay bearing against the fireclay brick portion of each regenerator division wall and exerting an elastic compressive force against said division wall, said tie rod being the only diagonal tie rod connected to said bench beam.

3. In a regenerative coke oven battery comprising, in combination, coking chambers having regenerators therebeneath arranged side by side, each coking chamber and regenerator therebeneath being separated from an adjacent coking chamber and regenerator therebeneath by a brick wall, the portion of each wall between adjacent coking chambers being composed of silica brick and at least the lower portion thereof between adjacent regenerators being composed of fireclay brick, thereby forming a silica-fireclay interface, a vertical buckstay at each end of each wall extending for substantially the full 10 height thereof, a substantially horizontally extending bench beam positioned opposite the locality of the interface between the silica and fireclay brick portions of each wall with the inner end of said bench beam bearing against the buckstay disposed at the end of said wall, means for supporting the opposite end of each of said bench beams, a tie rod diagonally positioned only between said opposite end of each of said bench beams and the lower portion of the buckstay against which the said bench beam bears, each of said tie rods comprising an upper part having its upper end pivotally secured to said opposite end of said bench beam and having a bearing member at the lower end thereof, a lower part having its lower end pivotally secured to the lower portion of said buckstay and its upper end passing through said bearing member, a compression spring exerting tension on said bearing member in a direction to pull down on said upper part and urge said bench beam in a direction to oppose bending of said buckstay due to differential expansion between said silica and fireclay brick portions of said wall at which said buckstay is positioned and means on said tie rod for adjusting the tension exerted by said compression spring, said tie rod being the only diagonal tie rod connected to said bench beam.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 775,335 11/1904 Le Hew. 2,147,681 2/ 1939 Van Ackeren 202--268 2,199,510 5/1940 Otto 202---268 2,582,238 1/ 1952 Dobson 202268 2,641,575 6/ 1953 Otto 202-268 2,812,293 11/1957 Van Ack'eren 202268 2,839,454 6/ 1958 Van Ackeren 202268 X MORRIS O. WOLK, Primary Examiner.

ALPHONSO D. SULLIVAN, Examiner.

M. H. SILVERSTEIN, J. SCOVRONEK,

Assistant Examiners. 

1. IN A REGENERATIVE COKE OVEN BATTERY HAVING, IN COMBINATION, COKING CHAMBERS HAVING REGENERATORS THEREBENEATH ARRANGED SIDE BY SIDE, EACH COKING CHAMBER AND REGENERATOR THEREBENEATH BEING SEPARATED FROM AN ADJACENT COKING CHAMBER AND REGENERATOR THEREBENEATH BY A BRICK WALL, THE PORTION OF EACH SAID WALL BETWEEN ADJACENT COKING CHAMBERS BEING COMPOSED OF SILICA AND AT LEAST THE LOWER PORTION THEREOF BETWEEN ADJACENT REGENERATORS BEING COMPOSED OF FIRECLAY BRICK, SAID SILICIA SUPERIMPOSED ON FIRECLAY CONSTRUCTION BEING SUBJECT TO SUBSTANTIAL DIFFERENTIAL EXPANSION WHEN THE OVEN IS HEATED TO OPERATING TEMPERATURE, A VERTICAL BUCKSTAY AT EACH END OF EACH SUCH WALL EXTENDING FOR SUBSTANTIALLY THE FULL HEIGHT THEREOF, THE IMPROVEMENT COMPRISING A SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTALLY EXTENDING BENCH BEAM, HAVING AN INNER AND AN OUTER END, POSITIONED OPPOSITE THE LOCALITY OF THE INTERFACE BETWEEN THE SILICA AND FIRECLAY BRICK PORTION OF EACH WALL, WITH THE INNER END OF SAID BENCH BEAM HEARING AGAINST THE BUCKSTAU DISPOSED AT THE END OF SAID WALL, THE OUTER END OF THE BEAM EXTENDING PERPENDICULARLY FROM THE BUCKSTAY, A SINGLE DIAGONALLY POSITIONED TIE ROD HAVING ITS UPPER END SECURED TO THE OUTER END OF SAID BENCH BEAM REMOTE FROM THE BUCKSTAY, AND A COMPRESSION BENCH BEAM BEARS AND HAVING ITS LOWER END SECURED TO THE LOWER PORTION OF SAID BUCKSTAY, AND A COMPRESSION SPRING ON SAID TIE ROD FOR EXERTING TENSION THEREON IN A DIRECTION TO APPLY FORCE THROUGH SAID BENCH BEAM OPPOSING OUTWARD BENDING OF SAID BUCKSTAY DUE TO DIFFERENTIAL EXPANSION OF THE SILICA AND FIRECLAY BRICK PORTIONS OF SAID WALL, SAID THE ROD BEING THE ONLYD DIAGONAL TIE ROD CONNECTED TO SAID BENCH BEAM. 